A locking device of the kind mentioned above is known from document DE 10 2010 044 702 A1 and serves for fixing a rigid roof element, which can be a front bow of a folding top or a rigid roof segment of a retractable hard top (RHT), to the front cowl of the vehicle in question. The locking device comprises a locking support, which serves as a casing and which can be connected to the rigid roof element. A locking hook is pivotable around a bearing journal movable in the locking support. The locking hook has a hook section that can be displaced between a lowered release position and a raised locked position, in which the hook section is engaged with a corresponding locking element formed at the front cowl. For displacing the locking hook, the locking device has a driving mechanism, by means of which the bearing journal can be moved in such a manner that a displacing movement is introduced into the locking hook. Via a link arrangement of the driving mechanism, the driving torque generated by a driving motor is transmitted to a crosshead, on which the bearing journal of the locking hook is mounted and which is movable in corresponding guiding tracks of the locking support. In this locking device, the locking hook is secured in its locked position by an over-center position. However, the locking device has a plurality of components, which makes it difficult to install and expensive.
The object of the invention is to provide a locking device of the kind mentioned above in which the locked position of the locking hook is additionally secured.
According to the invention, this object is attained by the locking device having the features of claim 1.
Therefore, according to the invention, it is proposed that two securing elements which correspond to each other and which are engaged with each other when the locking hook is in the locked position are arranged on a first component of the locking device and on a second component, the securing elements preventing the locking hook from being unintentionally displaced into its release position by means of a pulling force exerted onto the locking hook, for example. In particular, the two components pivot or turn relative to each other when the locking device is being displaced, causing the securing pin which forms one of the securing elements to enter into the corresponding recess which forms the other one of the two securing elements when the locking hook reaches its locked position, the securing pin thus securing the locking hook against unintentional displacement. This means that the one component secures the other component. It may be necessary for at least individual components of the locking device to deform in order for the securing pin to engage the second component. In this case, the securing pin engages into the corresponding recess without contact if there is no undesired displacing force.
In a preferred embodiment of the locking device according to the invention, the locking hook and the corresponding recesses are configured in such a manner that a pulling force exerted on the locking hook when in the locked position introduces a torque into the driving wheel via the securing pin, the torque pointing in the direction of rotation of the driving wheel that is associated with the locked position of the locking hook. The pulling force thus forces the driving wheel further in the direction of its end position that is associated with the locked position of the locking hook.
In order to be able to introduce the torque described above, the recess preferably has a ramp or slotted track with which the securing pin is in contact. The ramp may be formed by a wedge-shaped surface or by a curved surface, for example.
In particular, both components in the locking device according to the invention, on each of which one of the securing elements is arranged, are movable relative to the locking support. It is also conceivable, however, that one of the components is stationary relative to the locking support or is the locking support itself, in which case the securing pin or the recess corresponding thereto is arranged on the locking support.
In a particular embodiment of the locking device according to the invention, the first component movable relative to the locking support is the driving wheel. The second component movable relative to the locking carrier may then be the locking hook, the slide or a pull link via which the slide is connected to the locking hook, for example.
Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the first movable component, on which the securing pin is arranged, is formed by the locking hook, the slide or the pull link, and the second component movable relative to the locking support is formed by the driving wheel.
In an alternative embodiment of the locking device according to the invention, the first component movable relative to the locking support is the slide, whereas the second component movable relative to the locking support is a coupling link, for example, which connects the driving wheel to the slide and on which the recess is formed into which the securing pin engages when the locking hook is in the locked position. Analogously, of course, the securing pin can be formed on the coupling link and the recess can be formed on the slide.
Preferably, the slide is connected to a driving end of the locking hook via a pull-link arrangement. In this case, the pull-link arrangement is thus arranged between the locking hook and the slide, allowing a torque to be introduced into the locking hook, said torque pushing the hook end upward during displacement from a release position into a closed position. The pull-link arrangement can also retain the locking hook in the transverse direction, the hook thus having no freedom of movement in the transverse direction of the vehicle. The slide, which is advantageously guided in a guiding rail of the locking support, has only one degree of freedom, which corresponds to the movement in the guiding rail.
In a preferred embodiment of the locking device according to the invention, the locking hook is mounted on the slide via a journal. In this way, a multi-joint arrangement guiding the displacing movement of the locking hook is realized by means of the slide, the pull-link arrangement and the locking hook.
The journal via which the locking hook is mounted on the slide can engage into an oblong hole. The oblong hole is advantageously formed on the locking hook. Of course, it is also contemplated for the journal to be fixed to the locking hook and for the oblong hole to be formed on the slide. The pivot axis of the locking hook travels in the oblong hole during displacement of the locking hook.
Alternatively, instead of the oblong-hole/journal connection, an additional link could be provided between the slide and the locking hook.
In an embodiment of the locking device according to the invention that is simple to implement in terms of construction, the pull-link arrangement is composed of one link or of a pair of links which is/are mounted on the locking hook via a first hinge point and on the slide via a second hinge point. The pull-link arrangement thus consists of a single intermediate lever or of a pair of intermediate levers which is/are arranged between the locking hook and the slide.
In order to ensure that the locking hook always takes up a defined position with respect to the locking support, the locking support can have a guiding track for a guiding element which is arranged on the pull-link arrangement. The guiding element could also be arranged on the locking hook itself. When the slide is moved in the locking support, the guiding element arranged on the pull-link arrangement will thus be moved in the guiding track of the locking support, the hook end of the locking hook thus being pulled upward from the release position into the locked position in a defined manner when the locking hook is being displaced. In a corresponding manner, the hook end of the locking hook will be pushed downward from the locked position into the release position when the locking hook is being displaced.
In order to also be able to retain the locking hook in the locking support in particular without rattling, the locking hook is preferably pre-loaded in the direction of its locked position by means of a retaining spring.
In a special embodiment of the locking device according to the invention, the retaining spring acts on the end of the pull-link arrangement that is associated with the locking hook.
The driving wheel, which drives the slide, can be connected to the slide in particular via a driving link arrangement. The driving link arrangement can be formed in the manner of a crank drive in conjunction with the driving wheel and can comprise a coupling link which is hinged to the drive wheel at one side and to the slide at the other side. The driving wheel being driven rotationally causes a translational shift of the slide in or on the locking support.
The driving wheel can have a stop which interacts with end stops of the locking support. The end stops define the release position and the locked position of the locking hook.